HVAC Advice

HVAC Advice Welcome to HVAC Advice!!

42 year old AC!Bought a house with the original AC unit, did some research and turns out it was manufactured in 1984! Wa...
06/06/2026

42 year old AC!
Bought a house with the original AC unit, did some research and turns out it was manufactured in 1984! Was blowing 68 degree air when it was 80+ out, until a wire burned out. I’m thankful my house didn’t catch fire!

I ended up with the Amana ALXT7C Condenser paired with a CE36D3D Cased Coil.

3 ton unit for a 1700 sq ft house. Howd I do?

Brand new AC won’t keep upACAny advice on calling the company that installed my AC and what to say? They’ve been out twi...
06/06/2026

Brand new AC won’t keep up
AC
Any advice on calling the company that installed my AC and what to say? They’ve been out twice for this brand new unit that can’t keep up with the heat (80° outdoor). It’s had a “tune up” that they provide but they didn’t really do anything with it. Unit outside has nothing around it, not even weeds. Just a heavily mulched area. We spent far more money than we wanted to on new furnace and ac as the old ones were 26 years old and now I’m watching as it runs constantly in a time of the year where the heat isn’t even close to its peak. Our 26 year old unit never ran constantly, even at the end of its life, and cooled the house nicely.

I’m just at a loss and tired of feeling like I’m being gaslit, but in my opinion a brand new unit should not be behaving like this.

Is this right?New to trade, tech I’m riding with said he needed to heat up tank so it flows easier into system. Is he do...
06/06/2026

Is this right?
New to trade, tech I’m riding with said he needed to heat up tank so it flows easier into system. Is he doing it right?

I love second opinionsPrevious company said TXV.Quoted customer $2,500 for labor to replace it.My customer now.
06/06/2026

I love second opinions
Previous company said TXV.
Quoted customer $2,500 for labor to replace it.

My customer now.

Wtf, is this mold?Maintenance guy says just dust. It's black and it doesn't wipe easily. It also looks slightly damp in ...
06/06/2026

Wtf, is this mold?
Maintenance guy says just dust. It's black and it doesn't wipe easily. It also looks slightly damp in the ceiling-wall crevice area..Is it soot? It's apartments btw, I rent.

LeakIm having issues with a leak here. Long story short we've had multiple techs claiming they found leaks and fixed it....
06/05/2026

Leak
Im having issues with a leak here. Long story short we've had multiple techs claiming they found leaks and fixed it. One claimed he pressurized to 500+ psi and had a vacuum down to 300 microns. A year later homeowner still hasn't had an ac to her upstairs unit. I did a triple e vac but it really hasn't gotten passed 1500 microns. We bubble tested everything when pressureizng with nitrogen but nothing popped up. Could we be needing a new lineset or is the unit fu**ed since it been sitting all year. I know with the leak being exposed to the outside there is probably condensibles and moisture trapped in the lines. Really don't want to give up on this but seems to me they never brazed with nitrogen and this thing is just full of build up. Any thoughts anyone?

1993 Carrier AC blows cold air but can’t cool down the house; time to replace?TitleI posted about this unit a few weeks ...
06/05/2026

1993 Carrier AC blows cold air but can’t cool down the house; time to replace?
Title

I posted about this unit a few weeks back.

I bought a house with a 1993 Carrier AC Unit. Originally I was hoping I could get this summer out of it, however, even on “cooler” summer like days (i.e., highs between 78-80) it can’t keep up. For example if I set the thermostat to 71 when it is 77 inside the house, it will run and only bring the temperature down 1 degree every 1-2 hours. It is also using A LOT of electricity to more or less do nothing (about 3.5-4 kWh when running). I’m not sure I can will be able to stand it during more warmer summer days in July and August. I put a new air filter in and hosed off the coils.

The thermostat is located in a room with large and original windows (second picture). During the day I have blackout curtains closed. While the windows def let in a lot of sunlight/heat I would think a working AC would still be able to bring the temperature down.

Is there anything else I could try? Don’t want to really drop any money fixing the Carrier unit due to the age. Is it time to replace?

TIA!

King valves rusted shut help.My unit has always been strong and reliable. It’s 40+ years old split system, belt drive ha...
06/05/2026

King valves rusted shut help.
My unit has always been strong and reliable. It’s 40+ years old split system, belt drive handler and R22 condenser. Still pushing a 20+ degree split. The past week it has been freezing up and I blamed it on the rainy weather. But I called a tech anyway and he believes I’m low on R22 but cannot get the king valves open.

I’ve been putting PB blaster on it for the last few days and took an hvac wrench to it and damn he is right. Those bad boys are shut.

Advice other than get a new system?

Unit Not Working Like Last Year Despite Being < 1 Year OldSo Idk If this is the right sub but...We bought a 24000BTU uni...
06/05/2026

Unit Not Working Like Last Year Despite Being < 1 Year Old
So Idk If this is the right sub but...

We bought a 24000BTU unit last year around July, used it for about 2 months. It was incredible, blew so cold you wouldnt even be able to stand in front of it.

Come this year aaaaaand It sucks... somehow? It blows barely colder air like 22 - 24° max. We called the service guys, they told us It leaked gas. Despite our questions of how( because It wasnt in use since august) they didnt tell anything, "refilled" and left.

All of this was 2 days ago, It didnt fix anything... unit still blows mildly cold air... They came again today, checked everything out told us it seems perfectly fine and left.

We are literally stumped. The weather is getting hotter by the day and the stupid machine refuses to work so I would really like to know if there is something I can do to make the situation better

Sister had new hvac installed a week ago and just realized contractor left it on with no filterEdit I appreciate the rep...
06/05/2026

Sister had new hvac installed a week ago and just realized contractor left it on with no filter
Edit I appreciate the replies going to post a pic below of an unrelated job that is what set me off on everything to give you guys an idea of the stuff she’s been dealing with. Glad to hear this isn’t super bad in terms of damage .

Just wanted to get some thoughts /input in terms of how egregious this is . Sister has been walked all over by these guys and I’m getting sick of it . Contractor is acting like it’s no big deal - “oh someone must have thrown it away “

Construction has been finishing up and they have been moving in so pretty good amount of dust imo for a week old HVAC. Also they are saying they will clean the coil I recommend her not to let them as I’m worried they will damage coil more !

Any thoughts appreciated!

Address

809 Hillcrest Lane
Los Angeles, CA
90017

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when HVAC Advice posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category